This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • With a pull on some strings, a net opened and 296 purple balloons floated into the sky above Sandy on Tuesday morning. Each balloon represented a domestic violence assault in Sandy from September 2014 through August of this year. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Those 296 assaults are about 9 percent more than the previous 12 months, said Sandy Police Chief Kevin Thacker. He hopes the increase is because more people feel comfortable reporting domestic violence.
Thacker said it's not realistic to expect to eliminate domestic violence.
"But if we can bring those numbers down, and we can work on the reasons causing [domestic violence], then we're well on our way to having a better society," Thacker said during a ceremony at Sandy's justice court before the balloon release.
About a dozen children attended the ceremony. Some of them helped produce public service announcements about domestic violence and planted purple pinwheels in front of the justice court.
Twitter: @natecarlisle